The Dickinson press., 1887-11-19
Patent Leather Shoes.

Can patent leather boots DO kept from
cracking. Hu1npll, well, should say they
can. Why not1' And the fashionable boot
maker whom an inquisi.ive reporter ap-
preached on the subject shrugged his Shout
,rrs and smiled the smile of one who knows
much.
But how can you prevent this de true,
thong
Easiest. thing in tho world. OF course I
dun't mean that this cheap trash which is sold
for patent leather can be made to look well
after a couple of days wear, but good stuff
may lie preserved until the solcs wear Off
Ivy the way, quite an unusual thing nova
days. First, a great difficulty is brought up
in tho buying. No fine shoe can he found in
tho stores that will exactly fit. Patent
leather, unlike other foot covering, must DO
perfectly shaped to the wearer's foot, other
wise creases will Immediately form, which il
not attended to will make great cracks. Now
u good shoe of this kind should, with proper
care, last the average man two seasons, and
will Mt the end of this time DO scratched to
be sure, but not cracked. Every couple of
days n bnth of oil should be given the boots.
Any oil will do, but meats foot is preferable,
and once a week at least linseed oil should be
applied. This treatment will mako tho
leather soft and pliable. After each appli-
cation the shoe should be wiped dry with q
rough woollen rag, and there you are. The
TRADE made by some alleged medical experts
against patent leather amounts to nothing,
for this material makes n comfortable and
healthy covering for the foot, and when
made properly admits all the air necessary to
keep the skin and circulation i'll perfect
order"
II, it being worn as much rs evsr!
"Bless you, yes, and a hundred times more.
I myself have made US many shoes of this us
of any other leather this year, aud, putting it
down in dollars and cents, patent leather
saves a great deal in Shines to its wearcrs.
The bootblacks cry it down, but sensible
people see its economy and clainor for it,
New York Mail and Express.
The Pepper Tree.
Some time before reaching Santa Barbara
we began to sec the pepper tree-of which we
had seen isolated specimens before-in great
numbers, and presently miles of hedges com
posed of this graceful tree met our eyes. The
pepper tree is large and tall, with BRANCHES
dropping after the ,nanner of the weeping
willow, only not to the same extent. The
foliage is thick, the leaves being long and
| slender, growing close together and having q
very graceful and fcathcry effect. In the
spring they are covered with clusters OF tiny
light yellow, creamy blossoms which look as
soft and downy as tho back of a newly
Matched chicken and OF about the same color,
taken as a mass. These disappear and long
clusters of small berries gradually ripen and
blush to a vivid scarlet in the warm sun,
making n wonderfully pretty bit of color, con-
trasting with the light green leaves in the
landscape. In leaf, i'll bud, in blossom, in
fruit, it is always a beautiful and graceful
thing to look upon. AS the seasons change it
simply changes its dress, tho new one seeming
lovclier than tho old; it is never bare and
desolate like other trees. The pepper tree is
very common in southern California, but its
perennial beauty preserves it from the fate
Of many another common thing.-Cor. Cleve-
land Leader